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Fortunately, HUSC President-elect Alex Erickson was in the area. He said he was walking to the Klas Center one night last week when he saw a disturbance. “As soon as it registered that she was shouting help I started running toward her and the suspect,” Erickson said.

The faculty member had her purse stolen as she was walking between the GLC and Bush Library. The suspect simply ran up to her, grabbed her purse and ran away with an accomplice. When Erickson heard the woman screaming he immediately ran after the perpetrator, chasing him through the Drew parking lot. At this point he was joined by a university security officer, who continued to chase the suspects down Taylor Avenue. At some point the St. Paul Police were called, and they helped with the search.

The chase obviously rattled the perpetrators because they ditched the faculty member’s wallet by the pottery shed. The suspects, however, were not found.

“I’d like to think my intimidating physical stature caused them to ditch the wallet, but I doubt it,” Erickson said, acting humble about the whole situation. “I’m not a hero in this thing; I’m just someone who ran after two robbery suspects.”

In light of these events, Security has been very concerned. “We’ve made escorts our number-one priority,” Hoffman said. Along with the increased availability of escorts, she said they have done everything from increase lighting on Englewood Avenue to hiring more Security staff members.

An off-duty police officer will patrol around Hamline every night until graduation. This will aid in increasing visibility on the border, which Hoffman said they are doing as much as possible.

“I am constantly reassessing, reevaluating security needs,” she said.

Hoffman said security has also received increased calls for escorts as well as for suspicious activity. She wants to make sure, though, that students and the community realize that Safety and Security are cautious about stereotyping and profiling for the perpetrators as much as possible.

The descriptions that all victims have given were similar, but also very vague. How many African American males wear baggy clothes, hats cocked to the side, hoods, and have dreadlocks or afro type hairstyles?

“How you look doesn’t mean anything,” Hoffman said. “We don’t care how a person looks.” When it comes to reporting suspicious activity her officers concentrate on what the person is doing. If the activity that an officer observes is not suspicious, Hoffman said, they ask if they can help the person find something. The answer to that question is what may or may not tell the officer this person is dangerous.

Hoffman also said that no one has been apprehended in connection to the crimes on campus. She said the St. Paul Police have been following a lot of leads, but have not found anything yet. Hoffman meets with a St. Paul Police detective in her office everyday, so they can check in with each other and work closely in solving these crimes.

These issues have also led students to claim that Hamline is nestled in a dangerous neighborhood. This allegation is wrong.

“These are the first series of robberies that we’ve had on campus, period,” Hoffman said. There may have been random robberies and vandalism in the past, but Hoffman said that this is the first instance of repeat crimes in the history of campus, as far as she knows. “We live in a wonderful neighborhood and these things happen in every neighborhood,” HUSC President Shanelle Evens said.

These crimes are also not related to any gangs. “I haven’t heard of any gang activity at all,” Hoffman said, and the police have not indicated this either.

She is also in contact with the Hamline Midway Coalition, and plans to meet with them about any other crimes in the neighborhood. Hoffman said there have been some talk about issues in nearby neighborhoods but she does not know if the crimes are connected.

“It’s concerning for you [students] and it’s equally concerning for me,” Hoffman said. “We are doing absolutely everything we can think of.”